In an unpublished memorandum decision, the DC Circuit affirmed, holding that "[t] he Supreme Court in PPL Montana... directly and categorically rejected any federal constitutional foundation for that doctrine, without qualification or reservation."

The court concluded that the public trust doctrine is a matter of state law and does not present a federal question to support federal court jurisdiction.

—the federal District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed a suit brought by youth plaintiffs (partnering with Our Children' s Trust) against the US government under the public trust doctrine seeking to compel the government to take stronger action to reduce GHG emissions.

The DC Circuit Court affirmed the district court's dismissal of the youths' case in an unpublished memorandum opinion, holding that the federal courts have no jurisdiction to hear public trust claims because they fail to present a question arising under federal law.

Part III discusses how the ultimate goal of ATL—to apply this state law theory at the federal level11—faced a serious roadblock in Alec L. v. McCarthy

—dismissing a similar claim brought in the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (DC) Circuit in 2014

The Thirteenth Circuit' s theory would require this Court to upend its constitutional jurisprudence, given that no case “stand [s] for the proposition that the public trust doctrine... arise [s] under the Constitution or laws of the United States.”

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